


Cinder Utena

by incapablehuman



Category: Shoujo Kakumei Utena | Revolutionary Girl Utena
Genre: Date Night, F/F, Fluff, the 1999 movie Cinder Elmo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28415361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incapablehuman/pseuds/incapablehuman
Summary: Anthy and Utena have a movie night
Relationships: Himemiya Anthy/Tenjou Utena
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Cinder Utena

**Author's Note:**

> i just had the thought "Utena Cinder Elmo Kinnie" and couldnt stop laughing and wrote this in a fugue state. You don't have to know much about Cinder Elmo it's just the Cinderella story but with Elmo as Cinderella.
> 
> This was supposed to be much more Utena centric but then I just kept writing a longe internal monologue about Anthy and idk it happens

She set the time on the microwave. 2 minutes. The bag had very specifically said 1 and a half but Utena always told her that Big Popcorn was trying to steal the joy of those last few kernels from them. It was always Anthy’s job to make the snacks for their movie nights. She had no idea how food worked but she could follow instructions to the end of the wor-

“Babe! Come the movie is gonna start!”

Utena always managed to ground Anthy when she thought of the past. She also had no idea this was what she was doing.

“Start without me Utena! Don’t worry I’ll be there soon”

She had grown to enjoy popcorn. The taste wasn’t anything amazing. In fact, especially with the bagged popcorn they bought from the store once a month, it tended to be very bland. Anthy had once brought this up to her girlfriend.

“Ah but see, Popcorn isn't necessarily meant to taste good,” Utena explained, gesticulating wildly with a handful of kernels. “They merely are meant to be something you funnel into your mouth. When I was a kid sometimes my friends and I used to put mountains of melted chocolate on top. That was fun but again it didn't taste ‘good.’ It’s just to keep you occupied during the movie.”

The concept still didn’t make much sense to Anthy.

But the taste wasn’t what Anthy liked about popcorn. It was the preparation. Putting the bag into the microwave. Watching it spin. Hearing the sudden flurry of movement as the first over eager kernels spring to life. And suddenly it would die down. But Utena was right. It was those last couple kernels that she went crazy for. When you think all is done, suddenly one or two more pop. Then a couple more. Until they're all sizzling and ready.

Exhilarating.

Anthy picked out a nice green bowl and opened the paper bag, A cloud of steam hit her in the face. Gotta remember the steam. Anthy shook the bag free of its contents. She noticed a kernel had gotten free. She eyed it on the floor.

Anthy counted. “1…. 2…… 3…..” On 4 she reached down and launched the singular popcorn into her mouth.

“5 Second Rule.” Anthy giggled to herself. She had gotten better at telling jokes. People didn’t seem to find her very funny. Utena always smiled whenever she laughed but she didn't always get it. Even Chu-Chu didn’t laugh at her jokes most of the time. Hmph, some friend he is.

She giggled again. She was a laugh riot today. Possibly because of date night. Anthy always loved date night. And Utena had picked the movie this time! Usually, Utena would refuse to pick a movie until Anthy had at least thought of one. Anthy was getting better at making decisions for herself but god was it a relief when Utena said she had a movie in mind.

Anthy gathered the bowl. She didn’t want to miss too much of the movie. 

When she entered the living room she saw her two closest friends staring forward in perfect silence. Chuu Chuu had his reading glasses on and was finishing up his book. Anthy made a mental note that they would need to go to the store tomorrow to pick up a new one or he would be huffy all week.

But Utena. Her calm, cool Utena. Anthy’s one constant. Utena was freaking out.

Her hands sat on her knees tapping away a consistent rhythm with her legs pursed together. She was sucking on her lip. Anthy would need to remind her to stop doing that, but right now she couldn’t help but just admire her girlfriend.

“I told you to start the movie without me.”

“Oh uh well… Chu-Chu wasn’t ready.”

Chu-Chu suddenly looked up realizing he was now a part of the discussion. “Chuu?”

“Ah well if Chu-Chu wasn’t ready that's perfectly reasonable, that does seem like him.” Anthy gave her tiny friend a small nudge as he started to object. She flopped onto the couch and gave Utena a small kiss on the cheek. “Now what was the movie Chu-Chu was so excited about.”

Utena sat for a good 4 seconds (Anthy counted) before mumbling something.

“What was that darling? I couldnt hear you.”

“....... it’s called…… Cinder Elmo?”

“Cinder Elmo! Sounds fun!”

Utena let go of the stress in her shoulders and relaxed into the other girls purple locks. “I don’t know if you’ll like it but my aunt sent it in the mail last week. She was cleaning out my old room and found it and I don’t know I just thought it might be fun.”  
This was a look Utena rarely gave into. Anthy cherished it.

“I bet I’ll love it.”

Utena grabbed the remote and pressed play. The old VCR whirred to life. That's a sound Anthy hadn’t heard in a long time. It didn’t ever mean much to her but right now it felt immensely comforting.

The movie seemed to be about a strange red puppet named Elmo. It seemed to be a simple retelling of the Cinderella story. The acting was charmingly cheesy. The puppets seemed to be having fun. That’s nice.

“Why are the two gay puppets trying get kisses from the princess?”  
“Hm? Oh uh it’s um repression”

“Ah just like you!” Anthy squeezed her girlfriend’s arm expecting a playful push back to her ribbing. But when she looked up at Utena she noticed that she hadn’t even reacted. Her face was looking up in awe at the silly movie. The puppets would dance and she would bounce her head to the songs. The puppets made goofy jokes and she giggled and then scrunched up into Anthy’s head. In their many years together, Anthy had never seen Utena act like this.

Ever since they managed to leave, Anthy has gotten better at dropping the mask. There were days when it was hard of course. There were days when someone, particularly men in power, would tell her she had to do something and a split second she’d go blank. Or there would be times when they would go out to eat at a new restaurant and the paralyzing fear of decision would weigh her down. But Utena was always there to calm her down and help her make her own decision.

But Utena’s mask was much subtler. And thus she managed to keep it on most of the time. Utena knew that she couldn’t save Anthy. The prince wasn’t real. But Utena still had to remind herself to hold back sometimes.

But it was times like this. When the mask fully faded away. Times like these delighted Anthy. There was no sense of a prince trying to save a princess. There was just a girl loving purely. Nothing more.

It was a short movie. Anthy didn’t watch much. It ended in the small red puppet dancing with the princess but refusing to marry her because he;s only 3. Anthy thought that was funny. A nice twist on the original fairy tale.

“So what did you think?” Utena looked down with a blinding smile.

“I liked it! I didn’t really understand all the puppets-”

“Muppets.”  
“Sorry, muppets but I liked their dance and it was all very cute.”  
Utena stared for a minute. Anthy waited.

“Do you have any thoughts, Utena?”

“Well since you asked I think it’s just, I don’t know something about this movie just gets to me. Like I know it was a movie I watched as a kid but like. I don’t know just like. Elmo takes the role of the princess of the story and he gets to dance with a princess but he’s still himself and that matters. Cuz like Gender is cool and I don’t know I just AGH this movie does things to me.”  
Anthy started giggling. She loved listening to her girlfriend ramble like this. She would get into these grooves and just need to rant through it. It was lovely.

“What I’m saying is that Elmo is a He/Him Lesbian”  
“But of course!”


End file.
